Chinese mooncakes are traditional pastries that hold significant cultural and historical importance Chinese cuisine. They are round or square pastries with a rich, sweet filling, and are typically consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture.
The history of mooncakes can be traced back to ancient China, with references to their existence as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)., the exact origin of mooncakes remains a subject of debate among historians.
One popular theory is that mooncakes were used as a communication tool during the rebellion against the Mongol rulers in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD). Legend has it that the revolutionaries hid secret messages inside mooncakes to coordinate their uprising on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which is now known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is believed that the mooncakes were a symbol of unity and resistance against the Mongol rule.
Over the centuries, mooncakes have evolved in terms of flavors, fillings, and designs. Traditional mooncakes are made with a tender, flaky pastry skin encasing a variety of sweet fillings. The most common filling is lotus seed paste with salted egg yolk, symbolizing the full moon. Other popular fillings include red bean paste, black sesame paste, and mixed nuts.
In recent years, there have been innovations in mooncake flavors, catering to modern tastes. You can now find mooncakes with matcha, fruit, chocolate, and even ice cream fillings. Some mooncakes are also made with snow skin, which has a soft and mochi-like texture.
Mooncakes are not only enjoyed for their taste but also for the symbolism they carry. They are often gifted to family, friends, and business associates as a gesture of well wishes and blessings for unity, harmony, and prosperity. The act of sharing and eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a cherished tradition that brings people together.
In conclusion, Chinese mooncakes have a rich history that spans centuries. They are not only delicious pastries but also a symbol of cultural unity and celebration. Whether enjoyed in their traditional form or with modern interpretations, mooncakes continue to play a significant role in Chinese festivals and culinary traditions.
I am a machine sales man , to be accurate, I am a sales man as well as a half machine engineer, as I have been in the food machine area for about 12 years. I witnessed the food machine development in Chinese market. At the beginning of the area, most of the machines were imported from abroad, such as from European countries, Janpan,etc. And most of the machines were from Taiwan province,China. To be honest, at that time, for example, 2005, the technology is not mature in China market, which made it difficult for Chinese food factories to buy the machine and make the products, as it replied on the import and the price was also very high at that time.
The Chinese nation is a nation that loves learing, during the coming 15 years, they developped the technology and strated to make the machines by ourselves, at the beginning, there is big difference on the machine quality compared with the machines from abroad, while with the continual improvement, the food machine has been more and more mature, and shared a good reputation not only in domestic market but also abroad. And now, China has exported the machines to and more countries and share good reputation.
In my memory, when I strat in this area, I learned the encrusting machine and the bread forming machine, at that time, this type machines are rare, when we made the machine, it can be sold easily..while as that time, people didn't have much knowladge on the machine and the recipe of the products, they can not make the product very profect, and they also didn't know that many products can be made by the same one machine..for example, for encrusting machine, it can make moon cake, maamoul, mochi, fish balls, cookies by the same one machine, that we called it multi-functional machine.. for the 380V 3Ph Pastry Production Line, it can not only make the pastry, but also can make bread, steamed buns, etc..
Now, with the development of the technology and the improvement of the knowladge on food recipes, we know much more of the machine and now, we can not only know how to make the products by the machine, but also need to know how to make it better..This is the requirment on the basis of the standard of the requests from market.
I have been in this area for 15 years, and for the next 15 years, I think I will also working in this area, as I like this area and there are much to be learn from it, learn from the excellent colleague, learn from brilliant people. In the future, there will still have much improvement in this area, we need to follow it, to improve ourselves, to make our machines better to serve more and more customers.
At last, we warmly welcome all of the customers from different places, different countries can come and visit us, we can discussed together and make small contribute to the food machine areas.